What’s Next for Wee-Mac?

Rory McIlroy has achieved the pinnacle of men’s golf major winners, where he faced agony for a possible meltdown to a triumphant redemption to claim his green jacket for his first Masters against Justin Rose. McIlroy went through criticism to where some golf fans expressed that he would never complete the Career Grand Slam for men’s golf majors or even win another major after his second PGA Championship in 2014. The victory in Augusta silences his doubters until the week of the 2025 PGA Championship. The main headlight for McIlroy in that week was having an illegal driver in his bag, which ignited the legitimacy of his victory in Augusta in some minds. The criticism didn’t stop as McIlroy never reached the same championship performance in Augusta for the rest of the year, where he didn’t even make the cut at the RBC Canadian Open.

Did Rory underperform expectations for this year? The answer is dependent on which angle you are looking at and what you expect from McIlroy for 2025. The career picture shows that Rory was able to break his major drought, achieve his first green jacket in Augusta, and achieve the career grand slam in men’s major golf since Tiger Woods. The year picture, however, shows a slump in performance after the incident at the 2025 PGA Championship, and never achieved victories through the rest of the 2025 PGA season.

Will Rory McIlroy escape criticism for not winning another major? The answer is no, but the critics will be quiet on the winning, where they find new materials to criticize his media conduct whenever he is in a slump. The conduct seems to be a topic whenever McIlroy is in a slump. The question for viewers of the PGA is this: Will McIlroy address the media or avoid it when he is in a slump in the future? The legacy of McIlroy is set, but his following year may offer a glorious year or a year where we can say that he is declining and his status of being one of the best male golfers is in jeopardy.